Before and after pictures of Australia’s east coast show the true scale of devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Alfred. What was once a paradise for surfers, with golden, sunlit sands, became a battleground as waves as high as ‘three or four-storey buildings’ slammed into the coastline.

Ex-tropical Cyclone Alfred has been downgraded to a tropical low, as it approaches Australia’s eastern coast. Although the speed at which Alfred is travelling has slowed, Brisbane locals have been sent a stark warning of what might be to come.

A slow-moving tropical storm crossed islands off Australia’s heavily populated eastern coast late Friday, lashing coastal suburbs with destructive winds and dumping heavy rain across the region.